Ray Tracing
Ray Tracing | Ray TracingThe rendering method in which a raster image is obtained by tracking rays and their intersections with three-dimensional objects. Ray tracing in many respects is similar to how it turns out photographic image in the real world, and allows you to receive images, the approximate on the reliability of the photographs (sometimes up to �������������).
The trace algorithm is as follows: for each pixel of the image from the camera position is available beam, which is then checked for intersection with the objects in the scene. On the basis of points and normal border, as well as the characteristics of the surface and a set of known sources of light, the color of the calculated surface at this point, which is assigned to the pixel.
The algorithm naturally supports the forward-looking projection (the rays diverge as the distance from the camera), the selection of the Depth (only the nearest to the screen plane intersection) and the building of shadows (to check if the point in the shadow, is yet another beam in the direction of the light source - if it crosses the surface before it reaches the source, the point is shaded). The introduction of additional rays traced is expanded to support the soft shadows, reflections, �����������, indirect lighting and other optical phenomena in the real world.
Lack of tracing, which is preventing the full use of the method for rendering in real time, is the huge amount of ���������� computing. In recent years, the opportunity to trace the parallelization using GPU's general purpose - it allows to hope for changing the situation in the future. Now possibilities of modern video cards allow you to organize a hybrid rendering - rasterization with elements of the trace for some complex effects like reflections.
See also the rendering.